Generally in the molding of candles a wick is necessarily centrally located in a mold into which suitable candle wax is injected and after the candle wax has sufficiently cooled the candle is ready to be burned in use. The candle mold can be a reusable mold which results in a candle that generally is placed in some sort of suitable candle holder then burned. Candles also can be molded in a container, usually made of glass and the candle is then burned in its container in lieu of being burned in some sort of candle holder.
During the manufacture of candles the candle wax generally shrinks as it cools in the mold or in the candle container and this can cause the candle wick to be pulled to one side of the candle. If the candle is made in its container, usually made of glass, then if the wick is not rigidly held in place during the cooling of the candle wax in the manufacturing process, the wick may move to one side of the glass container and when the candle is burned the heat of the flame could cause the glass container to break or even to shatter.
In candle manufacturing numerous methods of keeping the wick centered in the candle mold or candle container have been used. Generally to keep the candle wick centered in the mold or its container the wick must be fastened to the mold or container at both the top and the bottom. Also to keep the wick from moving to one side of the mold or container as the candle wax cools it is usually necessary to introduce two or more layers of wax into the mold or container the first wax layer being allowed to cool before additional wax is introduced into the candle mold or container in order to insure that the wick does not move to one side of the mold or container as the candle wax cools. This is a time consuming process and involves at the least two introductions of candle wax into the candle mold or container and the first introduced candle wax must be allowed to cool and shrink before additional wax can be introduced to complete the manufacture of the candle.
One method typically used in the manufacture of candles made in their container, the container being made of glass is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,922 by Theodore H. Weiss. In this patent Weiss discloses the general method of 1) dispensing candle wax into its glass container; 2) allowing the first dispensed wax to cool and shrink; 3) inserting the wick in the solidified wax into a central cavity formed by a removable rod; 4) dispensing the second and final candle wax into the container; and 5) finally allowing all of the candle wax to cool so that the candle can be shipped to its destination and the wick will not move to the edge of the glass container and then possibly cause the glass container to break or shatter as the wick is eventually burned.
Other methods of manufacture of candles in their containers are more or less similar to that disclosed by Weiss. While this method of candle manufacture is practical the main disadvantage of having to dispense candle wax into the container at least twice is that it could take hours or even several days for the first dispensed candle wax to cool sufficiently for introduction of the next or final amount of hot candle wax into the container then an additional period of hours or even several days is necessary for all of the hot candle wax to sufficiently cool so that the candle can be safely shipped in its container and the wick suitably centered in the candle container so that the candle will burn properly. During the cooling period of the candle wax cooling fans can be used, but even so the time necessary for the candle wax to properly cool for shipment of the candle could take hours or as is usually the case, several days.